Here is the question: Has anyone out there tried Celexa yet?


Here is the info:

It took me 42 years before anyone suggested I had winter SAD.

It negatively affected my whole life.

I can gain 15 pounds in very short order in january and february if I am not careful.

I have found that my SAD seems to coincide with my friends' fibro flare-ups. or vice-versa.

I have tried the light for two years, with little success. It helps in the early months (Oct, Nov and early dec), but then is not enough.

I used Effexor last year successfully, but this year it seems to be causing bronchitis????????????????

My husband has SAD and so do both my daughters. My husband and I are both children of alchoholics, although we are not ourselves. My husband's SAD is very severe. His starts in mid-September with no build-up. Just blam! Mine doesn't start until mid-October and very gradually gets worse.

I get depressed, gain weight, can't sleep (early morning awakening, my daughter has delayed sleep pattern), can't focus, hate my job, don't want to move, procrastinate on everything because I have no energy, don't want to socialize. And last year I started getting what appears to be symptoms of fibro.

SSRI's do help. And Effexor especially helped with the pains that I believe are fibro. And I wonder about low carb, even though that is what I am doing. I can't help but wonder if it will only make matters worse because supposedly your body needs carbs to make serotonin which is why carb craving gets so bad in the winter.

My youngest daughter is trying the cocktail of Effexor and Welbutrin. Welbutrin seems to help her with the drowsy effect of the Effexor. She is also losing weight on that combination.

I wish for my whole family and everyone else's that there was an easy answer to this. I don't like the side effects of the drugs. And by January, I would have to sit in front of the light for probably two hours and I just don't have that kind of time in the mornings.

So, I hope this helps someone. Maybe someone else won't have to wait to be in their 40's before someone recognizes that they actually have a problem. I can't even begin to tell you of the labels I have had put on me and I have put on myself, not realizing that I actually have a chemical imbalance.

Good luck to all!

I really feel for you. I, too, have a severe case of SAD that comes January/February the light doesn't help and I can gain 30+ pounds easily. Finally I actually had to move as the SAD seemed to be coming earlier and lasting longer every year as I got older. I moved from Boston, MA to Washington, DC and had to leave behind my daughter and grandchildren. My symptoms are very much improved here starting later and lasting a shorter season. Nothing helps in February though!!!

One of the things I did stumble on this year that seemed to make a big difference, it might only be my feeling, was that I went on a 2 week modified fat flush plan. During the second week of the plan I noticed that my SAD symptoms seemed much improved. Further I lost weight on this plan when I had never lost weight at this time of year before. I'm sure you understand my feelings.

I have now been off the plan for a week and the effects seem to be lasting. I am not depressed to any great degree, I have no cravings yet and my appetite seems normal to limited. All I can think of is that the MFFP is supposed to clean toxins out of your body. You also take a lot of lecithin which iare supposed to be what the sheaths that house your nerves is made of. I'm thinking that the lecithin repairs your nerve housings and this allows better transport of sensations/light and seratonin to your brain and body. And as your liver and kidneys get cleaned out from toxins they can operate more efficiently and maybe help your body produce what it needs to to be more balanced. Might sound logical to you. It might sound far fetched. All I know is that I feel tons better than I usually do this time of year.

Good luck to you and your family.

As an aside. My doctor told me years ago when I was diagnosed with SAD that a lot of alcoholics have SAD. Alcohol is how they deal with the resulting depression.

Hi. I've never tried Celexa; just wanted to wish you luck.

I get similar symptoms to yours. They're starting to kick in, now that daylight savings time is over and the sun is down at 5:00 pm here.

>>"I used Effexor last year successfully, but this year it seems to be causing bronchitis?"

Have you seen a doctor about the bronchitis? I've never heard of lung infections being caused by SSRIs.

>>"Welbutrin .... She is also losing weight..."

Glad it's helping her. It's not surprising that she's losing weight, because Wellbutrin calms the craving center of your brain. They sell it under the name of Zyban for smokers trying to quit - it's the exact same drug.

>>"I can't help but wonder if it will only make matters worse because supposedly your body needs carbs to make serotonin which is why carb craving gets so bad in the winter."

AFAIK, it's not that you *need* carbs to produce serotonin, but carbs do trigger it.

Good luck to you, too!

for your replies. It always helps to know that others understand your delimas.

Hi, I suffer from SAD too, used to get me really badly. Here's what I do now.
Around October, start taking St John's Wort, 900mcg a day, through til about the start of May.
Use my light box for 2 hours every morning over the same time(make sure yours gives out at least 10000lux at 50cm away, lots don't do enough)
Get enough cardio exercise - for me, to keep off the depression, I need about 30 mins, 3-4 times a week.
Anytime the sky is clear, wrap up and get outside at lunchtime.

I'm not as good during the winter as I am in the summer, but this lot together keeps me from gaining weight badly and more importantly, slipping into major depression.

Oddly, the exercise seems quite vital. I don't go mad, just 30 mins walking, working up to jogging bits at a time. It seems to be enough, but if I don't do it, I notice the difference in my moods.

Good luck with it, hard when your family suffer too and you're trying to keep them up as well.
Take care, Jay

How do you find the time to use the box for 2 hours every morning? I had seen info on one of the health channels that two hours is optimum, but I haven't been able to accomplish that yet. It takes a real concentrated effort to get in 40 minutes.

Yes, I had been wondering about the cardio. I think it may help me if I could get started, even though it is not helping my husband at all.

So, have you noticed any difference in your SAD while being on low carb? Help...hurt...or neutral? I haven't been able to get mine down to the low point because some part of me is afraid that it will affect my SAD.

Thanks, again.

Hi quietone. I use my light box at work, I'm lucky in that I have my own office, so it sits on my desk next to my computer. People are in and out all the time, so it caused lots of comments and questions last winter and I just explained straight. Folk are just used to it now. I'm a vice principal at a school, so when I'm teaching I don't get to use it, but I seem to manage if I use it 3 or 4 days out of the 5 - and sometimes I only get half an hour here and half an hour an hour later on. The box stays at work, so at weekends I just make sure I get outside for a good walk.

The low carb if anything has improved matters cos its stabilised my blood sugar (I am also hypoglycaemic), since the highs and lows also added to my depression and general bad feeling.

The cardio definitely makes a difference to me and I've seen articles where its advocated for general depression too.

Some things say you have to work quite hard, I guess its different for different folk. I know my DH has to run or cycle pretty hard for the exercise to make him feel better - for him, mild cardio doesn't work. For me it does (or maybe I'm just so much unfitter than him, my 'mild' jogs are actually working my body as hard as his runs work his! )

The other thing I've seen advertised, from the reputable UK company where I got my lightbox, though I have no personal knowledge of its effectiveness, is a light visor.
It looks like a sun visor, only it has lights below the peak, which shine into the top of your eyes. The idea is you put it on and wear it as you do your morning jobs (presumably not the shower!) so you don't have to find the time to sit still in front of a box. Might be worth a look?

Hope you find somethings that work, take care, Jay